The Museum of History will stage an exhibition entitled The Aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War: The Lease of the New Territories & Weihaiwei from tomorrow until June 9.
It will feature more than 100 artefacts on loan from the National Library of Scotland, related to Sir James Stewart Lockhart, a former Hong Kong Colonial Secretary. They showcase the changes in Hong Kong's New Territories and Weihaiwei during the early 20th century.
Speaking at the opening today, Deputy Director of Leisure & Cultural Services Cynthia Liu noted the Museum of History and Museum of Coastal Defence are organising an exhibition series to mark the 120th anniversary of the First Sino-Japanese War's outbreak.
The exhibition that opens tomorrow is the first of the series and explores one of the many far-reaching consequences of the war: the lease to Britain of the New Territories and Weihaiwei, she said.
Lockhart served in the Hong Kong government from 1882 for 20 years and in Weihaiwei as Commissioner from 1902 for 19 years. During his stay in Weihaiwei, Lockhart transplanted the colonial system of governance applied in Hong Kong to the city in northern China.
The National Library of Scotland's Lockhart collection is a treasure trove of research into Hong Kong and modern China's history from the late 19th to the early 20th century.
Exhibits include Lockhart's notes in learning Chinese in Guangzhou, a thank-you letter from Kang Yu-wei to Lockhart during Kang's refuge in Hong Kong, public notices on the British takeover of the New Territories, ukiyo-e prints from the First Sino-Japanese War, the tablet Lockhart presented to the Tung Wah Hospital in Hong Kong, and letters between Lockhart and local Chinese prominent figures.
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